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High-Tech Glasses and Eye Implants Revive Vision Affected by Aging

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Study participant measuring visual acuity while wearing glasses post-retinal implant

Study participant measuring reading capacity post-retinal implant

Moorfields Eye Hospital

Individuals experiencing significant vision impairment can regain the ability to read, thanks to a compact wireless chip implanted in one eye along with advanced glasses.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a prevalent condition that impacts central vision and tends to progress over time. While the precise cause remains unknown, this condition arises from damage to the light-sensitive photoreceptor cells and neurons located in the central retina, leading to difficulties in facial recognition and reading. Available treatments are primarily designed to slow down the progression.

An advanced form of AMD referred to as geographic atrophy typically allows individuals to retain some photoreceptor cells that facilitate peripheral vision, along with sufficient retinal neurons to relay visual information to the brain.

Leveraging this capability, Daniel Palanker and his team at Stanford University in California created the PRIMA device. This system includes a small camera mounted on the glasses, which captures images and projects them through infrared light onto a 2-by-2-millimeter solar-powered wireless chip implanted at the rear of the eye.

The chip then transforms the image data into electrical signals, which the retinal neurons transmit to the brain. Infrared light is employed for this process as it is invisible to the human eye, thereby ensuring it does not interfere with any remaining vision. “This allows patients to utilize both the prosthesis and their peripheral vision simultaneously,” explains Palanker.

To evaluate its efficacy, researchers enlisted 32 participants aged 60 and above, all suffering from geographic atrophy. Their visual acuity in at least one eye was below 20/320—meaning they could see what a person with 20/20 vision could see at 320 feet (97.5 meters) only at 20 feet (6 meters).

The team initially implanted a chip in one of the participant’s eyes. After a waiting period of four to five weeks, the volunteers began using the glasses in their everyday activities. The glasses enabled them to magnify their view up to 12 times and adjust brightness and contrast as needed.

After a year of using the device, 27 of the participants managed to read again and recognize shapes and patterns. They also noted an average improvement of five lines on a standard eye chart compared to their initial findings. Some participants were able to achieve 20/42 vision.

“Witnessing them progress from reading letters to full words brought immense joy to both sides. One patient expressed, ‘I believed my eyes were irreparably damaged, but now they’re revitalizing,'” shares Jose Alan Sahel from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

While stem cell therapy and gene therapy may potentially restore vision lost due to AMD, these approaches are still in early experimental trials. PRIMA stands out as the first artificial eye designed to restore functional vision in individuals with the condition, allowing them to perceive shapes and patterns.

Approximately two-thirds of the volunteers experienced temporary side effects, such as increased intraocular pressure, as a result of the implants; however, this did not hinder their vision improvement.

Comparison of a trial participant’s eye (left) and eye with retinal implant (right)

Science Co., Ltd.

“This research is both exciting and significant,” remarks Francesca Cordeiro from Imperial College London. “It provides hope for delivering vision improvements that have previously seemed more like science fiction.”

The improved visibility experienced by participants is limited to black and white. “Our next objective is to develop software to provide grayscale resolution and enhance facial recognition,” states Palanker. Nevertheless, researchers do not anticipate achieving color vision in the near future.

Palanker also aims to increase PRIMA’s resolution, which is currently constrained by pixel size and the total count that can be included on a chip. Testing a more advanced version in rats is underway. “This current version equates to human vision of 20/80, but electronic zoom can enable vision as sharp as 20/20,” he explains.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Researchers Develop AI Tools to Revive Artwork Aged by Time in Just Hours

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Throughout history, the effects of wear and tear, along with natural aging, have resulted in oil paintings displaying cracks, discoloration, and peeling pigments, leaving lasting marks.

Repairing such damage is typically reserved for the most treasured artworks, requiring years of meticulous effort. However, a new approach promises to revolutionize this process, enabling the restoration of aging pieces in a matter of hours.

This innovative technique utilizes artificial intelligence and advanced digital tools to create reconstructions of damaged paintings, which are subsequently printed on a transparent polymer sheet and applied over the original artwork.

To showcase this method, Alex Kachin, a graduate researcher from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, undertook the restoration of damaged panels attributed to a master Dutch painter of the late 15th century, whose identity remains unknown, following a piece by Martin Schongauer.

The artwork, rich in detail, is visibly segmented into four panels, marred by fine cracks and speckled with countless tiny paint losses.

“Much of the damage involves small, intricate details,” Kachin noted. “It has been deteriorating for centuries.”

Kachin initiated the process by scanning the painting to ascertain the dimensions, shapes, and locations of the damaged areas, identifying 5,612 individual sections requiring repair.

Following this, a digital mask was created using Adobe Photoshop. Missing paint spots were filled in, with surrounding pigment colors adjusted accordingly. Repairs to patterned sections involved duplicating similar patterns from other areas of the painting. For instance, a missing facial feature of a child was sourced from a different work by the same artist.

Close-ups illustrating the masking results. Photo: Alex Kachin, MIT

Once the mask was complete, it was printed on the polymer sheet and painted over, followed by a varnish application to ensure it harmonized with the painting.

In total, 57,314 colors were utilized to restore the damaged sections. The modifications were crafted to enhance the artwork even if slightly misaligned.

Upon seeing the results, Kachin expressed satisfaction. “We dedicated years to perfecting this method,” he remarked. “It was a significant relief to realize that this approach enabled us to reconstruct and piece together the surviving parts of the painting.”

This approach, as detailed in Nature, can only be applied to works featuring a smooth varnish that allows for flat application. The mask can be removed using conservator solvents without leaving marks on the original piece.

Kachin envisions this technique facilitating galleries in restoring and showcasing numerous damaged paintings that might otherwise lack the value warranting traditional restoration efforts.

Nonetheless, he recognizes the ethical considerations surrounding the use of film overlays on paintings, questioning whether they might disrupt the viewing experience and the appropriateness of features derived from other works.

In a related commentary, Professor Hartmut Kutzke from the Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo emphasized that this method enables quicker and more cost-effective recovery of damaged artworks compared to conventional methods.

“This technique is likely best suited for relatively low-value pieces kept in less visible locations, and may not be appropriate for renowned, high-value artworks,” he noted. “However, it could significantly increase public access to the arts, bringing damaged pieces out of storage and into the view of new audiences.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Five key points from Trump’s strategy to revive the coal industry

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The hard hat is back. So is coal that is “beautiful and beautiful.”

President Trump signed four executive orders on Tuesday to sought to bolster the country’s declining coal industry, including lifting mining restrictions and burning the dirtiest fossil fuels.

In addition to exempting air pollution restrictions and other coal regulations imposed by the Biden administration, Trump has directed the Justice Department to chase states like California, which aimed to tackle climate change by reducing the use of fossil fuels.

“I call it beautiful and clean coal. I tell people not to use the word ‘beautiful, clean’,” Trump said in the east room of the White House, surrounded by dozens of men wearing mainly stiff hats. “We are completely ending Joe Biden’s war on beautiful, clean coal.”

Here are five takeaways from Trump’s orders.

Trump has always loved coal miners as a masculine symbol.

At a White House ceremony on Tuesday, he repeatedly mentioned the Burley men who surrounded him, joking about whether the stage could handle their collective weight. He recalled that during the 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton she was talking about Job Letrain for miners. “She was going to put them in the tech industry where you make little phones and things,” he said gestured at the hives and laughed.

Coal itself is a strong fossil fuel, he said. “A pound of pounds, coal is the single energy of the most reliable, durable, safe and powerful energy,” Trump said.

“It’s almost impossible to destroy,” he said. “You can drop a bomb on it and it will be there for you to use the next day.”

Coal releases more carbon dioxide when burned than any other fossil fuel, making it a major contributor to climate change. More mining and burning of coal adds to pollution that dangerously heats the planet, leading to more frequent and deadly heat waves, droughts, floods, sea level rise and faster melting of Greenland’s ice sheets, Trump said he hopes to win the US.

Scientists say that to avoid the most devastating effects of climate change, major economies like the United States must cut their emissions sharply, rather than increasing them.

Coal burning also releases other contaminants, including mercury and sulfur dioxide, which are associated with heart disease, respiratory problems and early death. Mining activities and coal ash from generated power plants pose environmental hazards.

No coal results were mentioned on Tuesday.

Regulations limiting the amount of contamination from coal-fired power plants have led to these plants operating more expensively and reduced industry profitability. But, as Trump said, “radical green” policy wasn’t the biggest reason for the decline in coal power over the past two decades. It was cheap natural gas by fracking.

In the mid-2000s, American excavators completed a method to unlock the enormous reserves of low-cost natural gas from Shalelock. The utility quickly realized that coal could be replaced with cheaper gas.

According to 2019 Survey At the RAND Journal of Economics, the energy market and low prices of natural gas account for almost all of the decline in coal plants’ profitability between 2005 and 2015, and as a result, retirements of hundreds of coal-fired power plants. “Environmental regulations had little impact on these outcomes,” the study found.

Trump says he wants to “drill, babe, drill” and lower gas prices.

“Did you notice that many law firms are signing up for Trump?” the president asked the crowd at a coal event Tuesday.

He was referring to the multi-million-dollar pro bono legal services some major law firms offered to the Trump administration after the president threatened to target him with executive orders.

One company covered by the executive order – Paul, Weiss – has promised concessions, including $40 million in pro bono work for a Trump-friendly cause, cutting deals with the White House. Three other companies – Milbank. Skadden, Arps;Wilky Far & Gallagher – Actively agreed to his deal with the White House.

On Tuesday, Trump indicated that these free legal services would be directed. It fights climate policy and supports the coal industry.

“We’ll use some of those companies to work with you on your leases and other things,” Trump told coal leaders.

Tuesday was a good day for the coal industry. Shares of mining company Peabody Energy rose 9%. Alliance Resource Partners led by billionaire coal tycoon Joseph W. Craft III, who led Trump’s fundraising during the presidential election, have risen nearly 5%.

But many experts are skeptical that Trump can do much to turn the coal outlook up. “Given the limitations on the use of emergency authorities and the symbolic nature of the order, we believe that Trump’s coal executive order is unlikely to have a significant impact on electricity and carbon markets,” wrote an analyst at Capstone, a research firm. They called the coal stock bumps on Tuesday a “overreaction.”

The average US coal plant is more than 50 years old, and it is often cheaper for utilities to generate electricity using a mix of gas, wind, solar and batteries. Analysts say these fundamentals are difficult to change.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Could Scientists Soon Revive the Tasmanian Tiger? Is Concern Necessary?

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Scientists in the United States and Australia are working on bringing back the Tasmanian tiger nearly a century after their extinction. They believe that with new DNA technology and Tasmanian tiger fossils, the animal could be reintroduced into the wild.

Researchers are collaborating with Colossal Biosciences to develop a plan to revive the Tasmanian tiger. They aim to address ecological issues and consider the potential impact of resurrecting an extinct species.

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What was the Tasmanian Tiger?

The Tasmanian tiger, also known as the Tasmanian possum, resembled dogs and wolves in many ways. Its official name, Thylacine, means “dog-headed pouched animal” when translated. Despite its dog-like appearance, the marsupial was comparable in size to a golden retriever, including its long tail.

However, human misunderstanding and hunting led to the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger, with the last known species dying in a Tasmanian zoo in 1936.

Why would they want it back…?

Colossal Biosciences believes that reintroducing the Tasmanian tiger could have positive impacts on the ecosystem. Predators like the Tasmanian tiger could help control population levels of other species and prevent diseases from spreading.

Researchers suggest that the presence of Tasmanian tigers could have prevented the decline of the Tasmanian devil population, which is currently facing extinction due to facial tumor disease.

…and how?

Scientists are using DNA technology to recreate the genetic structure of the Tasmanian tiger using samples from related species. By comparing DNA sequences and making genetic edits, they hope to reconstruct the Tasmanian tiger’s genome and potentially bring it back to life.

While challenges remain in transitioning revived species from the lab to the wild, researchers are optimistic about the project’s progress.

Are we all doomed?

The implications of reintroducing extinct species like the Tasmanian tiger are still unknown. Scientists are cautious about the potential consequences on existing ecosystems and the behavior of revived animals in the wild.

Further research and monitoring will be crucial to understanding the impact of reviving extinct species and reintroducing them to their natural habitats.

What animals might come back next?

Colossal Biosciences is also working on reviving other extinct species, such as the dodo and woolly mammoth. These projects pose similar ethical and ecological challenges, but researchers are hopeful about the potential benefits of bringing back these ancient creatures.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

AI Helps Chinese Mourners Remember and “Revive” Their Loved Ones

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aMillions of people across China visit their ancestors’ graves to pay their respects during the annual Tomb Sweeping Festival. This means new ways to remember and bring back beloved relatives are emerging.

Some services advertised online say Chinese netizens can create animated digital avatars of their loved ones for as little as 20 yuan (£2.20). So this year, to mark Thursday’s Tomb Sweeping Festival, innovative mourners are relying on artificial intelligence to connect with the deceased.

On the more sophisticated end of the spectrum, Taiwanese singer Bao Xiaobai used AI to “bring back to life” her 22-year-old daughter who died in 2022. Even though there was only an audio recording of her speaking three sentences of English, Bao reportedly spent: He experimented with AI technology for over a year before he managed to create it. his daughter video She sang Happy Birthday to her mother and published it in January.

“People around me think I have lost my mind,” Bao said in an interview with Chinese media. But she also added, “I want to hear her voice again.”

Interest in digital cloning of deceased people is growing as China’s AI industry continues to expand into human-like avatars. According to some estimates, the market size of “digital humans” is expected to reach 12 billion yuan in 2022, and quadruple by 2025. One reason Chinese tech companies are so good at creating digital humans is because China has a huge army of livestreamers. Companies that generated an estimated 5 trillion yuan in revenue last year are using AI to clone themselves and sell their products 24/7.

People scatter flower petals in a river at a cemetery in Beijing before this week’s grave-sweeping festival. Photo: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

Last month, SenseTime, one of China’s leading AI companies, showcased its skills in this field during founder Tang Xiao’ou’s speech at its annual general meeting. “Hello everyone. See you soon,” Tan told employees. “The past year has been difficult for everyone, but I believe that hard times will pass.”

Mr Tan’s 2023 has been particularly difficult. Because he passed away on December 15th at the age of 55. His speech was delivered by a digital clone trained by SenseTime engineers using a large-scale language model machine learning program trained on Tang’s video and audio clips. .

The Tomb Sweeping Festival is a special occasion for this type of technology.a software developer I said it on Weibo He said he has already helped more than 600 families “achieve reunification” with their loved ones this year.

But bereaved families are not the only ones using AI to bring their loved ones back to life. Social media users recently used old footage of singer Qiao Renliang, who passed away in 2016, to create new content featuring him. In one video, his AI clone of Qiao says: “Actually, I never left.” However, the parents of Mr. Qiao, who committed suicide, were furious. His father was quoted in Chinese media as saying the video “revealed his scars” and was made without his family’s consent.

Some Chinese lawyers argue that such content should be banned if it causes “mental distress” to the relatives of the deceased. But as grievers gather for a grave-sweeping festival, China’s digital natives are likely to experiment with a digital afterlife faster than flesh-and-blood policymakers can regulate it.

Additional research by Chi Hui Lin

Source: www.theguardian.com

Can Technology-Backed Planners Revive the Lost Art of City-Building in California’s Big Cities?

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I
As we were chopping garlic and herbs at Burning Man, we met Gabriel Metcalf, an urban planner hired to design a new city in California with the backing of a tech billionaire.
new york times
The mystery of who was secretly buying up more than 50,000 acres of farmland in Solano County, about 80 miles northeast of San Francisco, has just been uncovered.

The buyers included Silicon Valley investors who were committed to ambitious plans for a new “California Dream” city with walkable neighborhoods, climate-friendly infrastructure, green energy jobs, and affordable housing. It turns out that the list includes celebrities.

Many people are deeply suspicious of tech elites throwing money around thinking they can solve everything. And the way California Forever, an investor-backed company, secretly bought up nearly $1 billion worth of land without the knowledge of local residents or officials, also discouraged people from getting excited about the project. In the months since the project was announced, residents, officials and environmentalists have raised serious questions about the feasibility of turning rural land into a bustling city.

I followed up with Metcalfe to see if what sounded like a bold vision when shared in a pop-up city in the Nevada desert actually makes sense in the real world. . Metcalf, who comes across as more of a pragmatic urban design geek than a Silicon Valley techie, admits he understands where the skeptics are coming from.

“This has never been done before, at least not in this way or on this scale. There's a lot of work to do to get people on board and understand the vision,” he said over coffee in San Francisco's Dogpatch district. he said while drinking. “We're not proposing a utopia. We're just proposing a city. We're not claiming that this will solve all your problems. But this is another tool. I would argue that it can be helpful.”




Farmland in rural Solano County, California. Counties where California Forever wants to build.
Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez/AP

California faces difficult housing issues that Metcalf, a respected urban planner, believes can only be addressed through bold action.

Metcalf ran Spar, a San Francisco-based urban planning think tank, for a decade and a half, where he advocated for building more cities.
public housingways to address the region's housing crisis include increasing public transportation and increasing the minimum wage.

…

Source: www.theguardian.com

Co-founder Eric Wu of Opendoor resigns to revive his startup beginnings

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Opendoor co-founder Eric Wu is stepping down from the real estate tech company. SEC filing.

Wu said in a statement: “After 10 years, I am being asked to go back to my startup roots and create and build again. I am humbled by this accomplishment and grateful to my teammates who have helped shape our product, our culture, and our company. Thank you very much.”

Mr. Wu will remain an advisor to the company and its board of directors. During his time at Opendoor, he remained an active investor.according to crunch baseMr. Wu has invested in dozens of companies, including Airtable, Scribe, Roofstock and the now-defunct Zeus Living.

The executive had been gradually reducing his executive responsibilities at Opendoor, which is nine years old. Last December, Mr. Wu announced that resign from one’s role as CEO He will serve as President of Opendoor’s Marketplace Division.

Like many other companies operating in the real estate sector, the company is facing some challenges as mortgage rates have risen to nearly 8%, making it difficult for people to buy a home.

In November 2022, Opendoor announced: Let go of about 550 peoplerepresenting 18% of the company across all divisions.

At the time, Wu said his company was navigating “one of the most difficult real estate markets in 40 years.”

Opendoor completed its listing in late December 2020. Scheduled merger Partnered with SPAC Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings II led by investor Chamath Palihapitiya. This comes after the company raised about $1.3 billion in equity funding and about $3 billion in debt funding. Investors include General Atlantic, SoftBank Vision Fund, NEA, Norwest Venture Partners, GV, GGV Capital, Access Technology Ventures, SV Angel, Fifth Wall Ventures, and more.

Founders include Wu and Founders Fund general partner Keith Lavoie.

It was a week when the founder left. On Thursday, TechCrunch broke the news that Credit Karma co-founder Nichole Mustard is leaving the company after more than 16 years.Jack Altman also announced his appointment. get off the lattice“I want to go back to the early stages of building the company,” Altman told Business Insider.

Have a news tip or inside scoop on a topic we’ve covered? We’d love to hear from you. Contact us at maryann@techcrunch.com. Or send us a note at tips@techcrunch.com. We will be happy to honor your request for anonymity.

Source: techcrunch.com